


Intimacy through weakness

by bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid



Series: Bughead Tumblr Prompts [15]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Panic Attacks, bughead - Freeform, secret sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 17:18:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10035935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid/pseuds/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid
Summary: *emerges from a pile of books* Here! I found another one for you: “The most intimate thing we can do is to allow people we love most see us at our worst. At our lowest. At our weakest. True intimacy happens when nothing is perfect.”— Amy Harmon.Requested by http://dachi-chan25.tumblr.com/





	

Jughead let himself into Betty’s house as he always did when her parents were out. Betty had told him that they would be gone all day. Jughead was looking forward to a lazy day spent cuddling with his girl. He had a drink tray with coffee for him and tea for her, and he had some freshly baked muffins in his bag. He hoped that Betty was still sleeping so that he could surprise her with breakfast in bed.

Jughead quietly made his way to the kitchen and set out breakfast. He knew that Betty would probably want to make more food because she knew how much he loved his omelettes. Betty made sure to always make him one whenever he was there in the morning. He just hoped that he could convince his selfless girlfriend to sit and eat her muffin first.

Satisfied with the setup, Jughead headed upstairs to see if Betty was awake. He was slightly disappointed, but not surprised when he saw light streaming from beneath the door. Jughead pushed open the door and entered the warm and pink room. It took him a few seconds to find Betty. She wasn’t on her bed and she wasn’t in her desk chair. Finally he found her, she was sitting on the floor with her back against her bed, facing away from him.

“Betty?” Jughead said hesitantly, sensing that something was wrong. He walked around the bed so he could see her better. She was staring off into space with tear tracks down her face. She had her ADHD pills in one hand and a crumpled piece of paper in the other. Jughead sat on the floor so that he was facing her. He took both objects from her hand. Unfolding the note, he saw that it was a to do list from her mother. “Betty?” Jughead said again, smoothing her hair and wiping the tears from her face. Betty finally acknowledged his presence.

“Juggie” She gave a small smile, looking relieved that he was there. Jughead pulled her into a tight hug, she looked so broken it was like someone had stabbed him in the heart.

“What happen Betts?” Jughead asked when they separated slightly. He leaned back so he could see her face, but kept his hands on her arms.

“My…mom” Betty sniffed, her gaze falling on the list and pills on the floor. Jughead stiffened, knowing how much her mother could affect Betty. “She um…thinks that my life has gotten off track. She thinks I’ve been spending too much time with friends and cheerleading and you…”

“Betty…” Jughead spoke softly, nothing she was saying was new. So what had her so bothered? “What did she say this morning?”

“I don’t normally take my ADHD medication on the weekends, because I don’t need to concentrate so hard and I can usually get my homework done without it since I have two days and it doesn’t matter if I get distracted…but my mom told me that I have to start taking it because she doesn’t think I’m being as effective as I should be…”

“So she told you to take your pills and gave you a to do list to make sure you stayed on track?” Jughead summarized, putting the pieces together. He knew that Betty wasn’t ashamed of her ADHD, she just never wanted it to feel like it was ruling her life. She hated taking pills of any kind, she’d seen her mother take one too many pills to dull the pain. Betty never wanted to be like that. She took her medicine because she needed to, but didn’t take it when she could get away with it.

“It’s so silly, it’s a normal mom thing to do…but it just sent me into a panic. She just kept talking how I couldn’t manage without her and how I am throwing my life away and how I need to get my priorities straight.”

“Betty…what is really behind all of this?” Jughead knew that there was something else that was bothering her. Something deep and unspoken.

“What?” Her eyes flicked up to his

“Is this really about your ADHD or is there something else that is bothering you? You can talk to me.” Jughead coaxed gently. Betty was his lifeline, she had supported him when he told her about his home situation and his dad. She had stood by him fiercely and helped him through the difficult time. She was the only one he felt comfortable with telling his secrets to. Jughead hoped that Betty felt the same way about him.

“I just…I feel like everything my mom does is driven by Polly and her fear of me turning into Polly. What if it’s a self fulfilling prophecy. Her constant meddling and micromanaging is driving me crazy. I feel like one of these days I just going to snap. Mental illness is genetic, what if I can’t avoid what’s coming for me?” Betty was crying again as she talked, getting to the heart of the problem. Jughead had suspected that this was something that she feared and he was glad that she was finally voicing it.

“Betts, you don’t have to be anything that you don’t want to be. You are the strongest person that I know. You may doubt yourself, but I don’t. I know that you can get through whatever life throws at you.”

“But what if I don’t? What if I can’t always be strong?” Betty asked softly

“Then you let yourself fall a bit, but that’s why you have me and all of our friends. We are here to catch you if you fall. It’s not good for you to live with so much stress. You don’t have to worry about being perfect all of the time. I don’t care about any of that. I love this Betty as much as I love the Betty at school who always has a smile. Actually…” Jughead scooted closer and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, “I think I like you better this way.”

“Yeah right” Betty said with a scoff. She had been hanging on Jughead’s every word, soaking up the permission to fall apart, to not hold onto her image of perfection so hard.

“Seriously Betts, I love every part of you and that includes all of your fears and doubts and insecurities.” Jughead said firmly, taking her face in his hands and looking intently into her eyes to make sure that she got the message. Betty stared back, a tear falling from her eye and her bottom lip quivering.

“I love you.” She whispered. Jughead gathered her into his arms, pulling her close. When she started to sob he smoothed her hair and let her cry. He didn’t tell her that it was okay or try to shush her. He let her cry for as long as she needed to. He let her fall apart, knowing that he would be there to help her pick up the pieces.


End file.
